US import prices post biggest gain in seven months

David Maung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer directs trucks entering the United States from Mexico through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, California.

U.S. import prices recorded their biggest increase in seven months in August as the cost of petroleum surged and there were also signs of a pickup in underlying imported inflation.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that import prices jumped 0.6 percent last month, the biggest gain since January, after a downwardly revised 0.1 percent dip in July.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices increasing 0.4 percent in August after a previously reported 0.1 percent gain in July.

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